Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) versus London Stock Exchange Group (OTCMKTS:LNSTY) Head-To-Head Contrast

London Stock Exchange Group (OTCMKTS:LNSTY) and Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for London Stock Exchange Group and Jefferies Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
London Stock Exchange Group	0	0	4	1	3.20
Jefferies Financial Group	0	5	2	0	2.29

Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus target price of $62.62, indicating a potential upside of 13.57%. Given Jefferies Financial Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Jefferies Financial Group is more favorable than London Stock Exchange Group.

Profitability

This table compares London Stock Exchange Group and Jefferies Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
London Stock Exchange Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Jefferies Financial Group	7.58%	9.23%	1.31%

Dividends

London Stock Exchange Group pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Jefferies Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group pays out 44.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Jefferies Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Jefferies Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

60.9% of Jefferies Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 19.9% of Jefferies Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares London Stock Exchange Group and Jefferies Financial Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
London Stock Exchange Group	$10.96 billion	5.50	$875.36 million	N/A	N/A
Jefferies Financial Group	$10.82 billion	0.99	$710.47 million	$3.58	15.40

London Stock Exchange Group has higher revenue and earnings than Jefferies Financial Group.

Summary

Jefferies Financial Group beats London Stock Exchange Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About London Stock Exchange Group

London Stock Exchange Group plc operates as a financial markets infrastructure and data provider primarily in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Data & Analytics, Capital Markets, and Post Trade. It operates a range of international equity, fixed income, exchange-traded funds/exchange-traded products, and foreign exchange markets through the London Stock Exchange, AIM, Turquoise, FXall, Matching, and Tradeweb. The company also provides information and data products, such as indexes, benchmarks, real time pricing data and trade reporting, and reconciliation services, as well as network connection and services; market trading services; and clearing, risk management, capital optimization, and regulatory reporting solutions. In addition, it licenses capital markets; installs software; and provides maintenance, and events and media services. The company was founded in 1698 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services. The company also offers financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services; equities research, sales, and trading services; wealth management services; and online foreign exchange trading services. In addition, it provides investment grade distressed debt securities, U.S. and European government and agency securities, municipal bonds, leveraged loans, emerging markets debt, and interest rate and credit index derivative products; and manages and offers services to a diverse group of alternative asset management platforms across a spectrum of investment strategies and asset classes. The company was formerly known as Leucadia National Corporation and changed its name to Jefferies Financial Group Inc. in May 2018. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in New York, New York.